How to Do a Bar Tour

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Back during the First Great Age of the American Bar (late 19th century to early 20th century), the sporting gents who didn't mind if they did liked to spend the occasional evening navigating the "cocktail route." As the name implies, this was a loose archipelago of first-rank saloons where drinks were mixed just so and you were sure to run into exactly the right sort of company. Until recently, if you wanted to walk in their footsteps, all it would yield you was a series of overlarge martinis or a school of Harvey Wallbangers. Then came the renaissance in the craft of the cocktail, and now, suddenly, most American cities find themselves with enough credible cocktail bars that you can lay out a real route.

Navigating that route is more or less like going on any bar crawl, except the drinks are far more dangerous — serious cocktails have a way of sandbagging you like nothing else does.

Here, then, are some suggested rules and guidelines — not a one of which we haven't broken, occasionally to spectacular effect, but good and sound nonetheless. And below, a list of spots to frequent across the nation.